Chronicle of a blood merchant : a novel

One of the last decades ten most influential books in China, this internationally acclaimed novel by one of the mainlands most important contemporary writers provides an unflinching portrait of life under Chairman Mao. A cart-pusher in a silk mill, Xu Sanguan augments his meager salary with regular visits to the local blood chief. His visits become lethally frequent as he struggles to provide for his wife and three sons at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Shattered to discover that his favorite son was actually born of a liaison between his wife and a neighbor, he suffers his greatest indignity, while his wife is publicly scorned as a prostitute. Although the poverty and betrayals of Maos regime have drained him, Xu Sanguan ultimately finds strength in the blood ties of his family. With rare emotional intensity, grippingly raw descriptions of place and time, and clear-eyed compassion, Yu Hua gives us a stunning tapestry of human life in the grave particulars of one mans days. From the Trade Paperback edition. Review Immensely moving. . . . Artfully constructed, beautifully written, and stealthily consuming[it] repeatedly stops you in your tracks. The Boston Globe A rare achievement in literature. . . . [Xu Sanguan is] a character that reflects not just a generation but the soul of a people. The Seattle Times Epic . . . offer[s] unforgettable images of cruelty and kindness. The Washington Post Book World Stringently honest. . . . Eerily prescient. . . . Leavened by a touch of Chekhovian compassion. Time Asia Vital and electric. . . . Shows the persistence of human sensibility in the face of totalitarian logic. Slate A wrenching and blackly humorous tale. Long after I closed the book, the character Xu Sanguan has remained stubbornly impressed upon my heart. Dai Sijie, author of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress Popular literature at its best. . . . Touching. . . . Realistic and awash with humanistic values. . . . Its its own best advertisement, as well as a depiction of the absurdist nightmare that was China 50 years ago. *Taipei Times A mesmerizing book, one that captures the chaos and fragility of life during modern Chinas most turbulent years. Yu Huas characters bring to life the history, culture, traditions, and superstitions of Maos China within a story that is well-plotted, poignant, and dramatic. This examination of a Chinese familys will to survive will leave readers filled with inspiration. Terrence Cheng, author of Sons of Heaven *Chronicle of a Blood Merchant takes us straight to the heartland of Chinathe towns, streets, courtyards, kitchens, and bedrooms where ordinary Chinese live. They may not be great w... From the Inside Flap One of the last decade's ten most influential books in China, this internationally acclaimed novel by one of the mainland's most important contemporary writers provides an unflinching portrait of life under Chairman Mao. A cart-pusher in a silk mill, Xu Sanguan augments his meager salary with regular visits to the local blood chief. His visits become lethally frequent as he struggles to provide for his wife and three sons at the height of the Cultural Revolution. Shattered to discover that his favorite son was actually born of a liaison between his wife and a neighbor, he suffers his greatest indignity, while his wife is publicly scorned as a prostitute. Although the poverty and betrayals of Mao's regime have drained him, Xu Sanguan ultimately finds strength in the blood ties of his family. With rare emotional intensity, grippingly raw descriptions of place and time, and clear-eyed compassion, Yu Hua gives us a stunning tapestry of human life in the grave particulars of one man's days. A soaring literary achievement from internationally acclaimed writer Yu Hua, whose novels are now appearing in English for the first time, Chronicle of a Blood Merchant provides an unflinching portrait of China under Chairman Mao, as a factory worker must sell his blood to overcome every crisis. Xu Sanguan is a Chinese everyman-a cart-pusher in a silk mill struggling under the cruelty and hardships of Mao's leadership. His meager salary is not enough to sustain his family, so he pays regular visits to the local blood chief, followed by stops at the Victory Restaurant, where he pounds on the table and demands his ritual meal: "A plate of fried pork livers and two shots of yellow rice wine. And warm the wine up for me." But fried pork livers and yellow rice wine are not enough to restore Xu Sanguan. With the country in the throes of the Cultural Revolution, his visits to the blood chief become lethally frequent and his obligations to his family press against him mercilessly. At the height of famine, the Xu family lies motionless in bed, rising twice a day to consume increasingly watery rations of corn gruel. Xu Sanguan's wife is forced to stand on a stool in the center of town wearing a sandwich board that reads "prostitute". Yile, his wife's bastard son, forever haunts Xu Sanguan's sense of honor. And when Xu Sanguan sells his blood so he can take his family out to a proper meal, he does not invite Yile, who paces the town, famished and in tears, offering himself as a son to any man who will buy him a bowl of noodles. In a series of heartbreaking reversals, Xu Sanguan decides to risk his own life to save Yile and comes to understand that in a society ravaged by suspicion, hostility, and poverty, blood money not only pays debts, but forgives them as well. With rare emotional intensity, grippingly raw descriptions of place and time, and clear-eyed compassion, Yu Hua gives us a stunning tapestry of human life in the grave particulars of one man's days